Marillion guitarist Steve Rothery recently sat down with Louder Sound to discuss how things went for Marillion after their frontman Fish’s departure in 1988. Steve described his feelings and the band’s thought process when it happened, as well as how Marillion persevered afterward:
“There was a sense of relief when Fish left, to be honest. It was like a huge weight was lifted off our shoulders, just because things had got so bad. What had been a great working and personal relationship had degraded to the point where it was just unworkable. This was a bit of a journey into the unknown, but we had faith in the music that we’d already written, and that sustained us.”
Rothery also mentioned that the departure was inevitable, and all the turmoil within the band led to them partnering with Steve Hogarth:
“Strangely enough, I don’t think any of us were panicking, like, ‘Oh my God, what are we going to do?’ It wasn’t a shock-and-awe moment. It was more, ‘We’re just going to carry on because we’re good at what we do!’ We knew what we did and we knew its worth. We also realised that we had some good music, and we just wanted to complete the new equation with a good singer. It was worth the wait to find somebody like Steve Hogarth, it really was.”
When Marillion reunited with Fish at Aylesbury’s Market Square to perform their 1982 debut single ‘Market Square Heroes’ on August 2007, people wondered whether this would be a permanent reunion. Regarding the matter, Fish remarked:
“Hogarth does a great job with the band. We forged different paths over the 19 years.”
You can listen to Marillion’s newest album, released in March 2022, ‘An Hour Before It’s Dark,’ here. They are also going on tour this fall, starting on September 7 and running until February 3, 2024. For dates and ticket information, click here.